THE Verna Mae.
One day, it appeared; this unassuming spatula with a pitted blade and shabby wooden handle just appeared in the box under the stove where we stored the various kitchen accessories. My grandma, Verna Mae Kennedy, thought it was kind of ratty looking but after using it a single time, she fell in love. It was exactly what she wanted in a spatula. It was reasonably sized, light, and didn’t have a two foot long handle like the spatulas she had been using against her will. You don’t need a BBQ spatula to flip an egg. She loved it.
Unforunately, even good things don’t always last
Eventually, the already-old spatula started showing signs it wanted to be retired. The spot welds had begun to crack and the blade was slowly coming loose from the handle stem. She searched around and could never find a suitable replacement. Everything was too big, too inflexible, too plastic, or a hideous combination of the three. She stuck with that spatula until it had finally outlasted her. I inherited the spatula(read: quickly grabbed it, claiming it for myself) and had learned to do delicate welding by then. I welded that thing back together and used it for a few years before realizing other people might enjoy having one of their own.
She claimed they simply don’t make ‘em like this anymore
I started looking into it because maybe she was wrong. My grandma was never wrong. Nothing in the last thirty or fourty years satisfies what this spatula accomplishes. It’s steel and wood, thin and flexible, small and versatile. I searched high and low in stores and on the internet. Lo and behold, people have been searching for a flexible, metal spatula for use in cast iron skillets, carbon steel, and stainless steel pans. I decided I could be the solution to their problems, at least for cooking. I set out to make the best 40-year spatula I could. I chose thin spring steel for its flexiblity and durability. I chose stainless steel for the stem of the spatula for improved corrosion resistance and I chose a variety of woods for character and lifetime. The result is what I proudly call
The Verna Mae.